Posts filed under ‘Christmas’

Last year a couple of my friends and I decided to make homemade cards for Christmas since we were all a little strapped on money and we’re rather crafty. I liked doing it so much that I decided to make them cards again this year! (Ok I know Christmas is over, but Sam didn’t give me the card until Christmas… so by the time I squealed “You have to post this on our blog!” & she had a chance to write it, it’s a little late. Deal with it. 🙂 It still snows in January!)

First I made the snowflakes that I found patterns from on Hobby Loco and used their snowflake patterns 2, 3, and 4 under the crochet link. I also found a few on Martha Stewart. After I made six (three for each card), it was time to make the card. (Why didn’t I take pictures of the full card?! I was so excited about the details of these intricate snowflakes… just use your imagination?)

(If you didn’t catch it from the websites, after you stitch the flakes they get dipped in glue to harden & hold their shape.)

I’ve made loads of my own wedding invitations, so I had a few hundred pages of cardstock ready to go. I chose white, because it was close at hand, but I’d recommend using color if you don’t feel like coloring. After coloring the paper, I cut it down to fit on top of the card with about 1/4″ of the white card stock showing as a frame and stuck it down with scrapbooking tape (or double sided tape). I would have used glue, but I already had the tape.

Do you notice a trend here? I use what I have on hand. Just call me the Cheap Crafter or Thrifty Threader if you’d like. Ha. Back to the craft…so I used some crochet thread to help fasten the snowflakes to the front by literally sewing them on. The bigger snowflakes needed to be attached in two places, but the others only one.

Each was tied down with a tiny bow that you can be seen on the other side. At first that wasn’t what I wanted, but then realized it made it easy for the recievers to see where to cut off the snowflakes. In the inside I wrote at the bottom left *Detach snowflakes to use as a Christmas decoration!* (Sam clearly doesn’t have much faith in us)

I continued to decorate the front with “Let It Snow,” written all over with little stars (*) all over the place in a silver Sharpie to go along with the icy cold theme. I hope they both enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed making them. (We did.) I think next year I might make more for family and friends so they can have a touch of snow in the mail.

Why didn’t we think of this sooner? Well, Lauren’s new to blogging, but it’s a good thing Amy is a seasoned veteran. After seeing this on her personal blog (shameless plug: here) the light bulb finally went on.

Sign up for a “subscription”, it just means you’ll get a little email when we post a new blog. That happens about once a week. You’ll never again have to check in & be disappointed that there’s no new crafty secrets waiting for you. So glance to your right, there should be a sign up box.

What should you expect to see? Here’s a look back & a sneak peak ahead!

Merry Christmas!

This isn’t our craft or idea… but it’s adorable & I love to share when I find something good. Everyone, let me introduce you to Tia.

She writes my favorite blog: Christopher & Tia. I can’t speak on behalf of all the Glitter Blessings crew on this one, but personally I have a crush on Tia’s life. You might too, so proceed with caution if you’re prone to online addictions. She loves tattoos, shops at Goodwill, buys handmade goodies, is a military wife & mom, has the most adorable family, and can still pull off a monroe piercing. Amazing. I first found Tia on facebook when she posted about finishing the C25K running plan (the same running plan I’m on! Week 5 & going strong.) & I’ve been hooked ever since.

And the best part…. she crafts with glitter. Some of us only dream about glitter crafts, but Tia faces the mess head-on. So brave. So inspiring. So against the rules of crafting in a coffee shop, therefore, so badass.

All these reasons are why I’m excited to share this tutorial posted on the Christopher & Tia blog. Ladies, grab your craft aprons! I hope you love her as much as I do.

– Lauren

I’m making coffee cozies for friends & coworkers this year (hopefully none of whom check this blog regularly… surprise!) Whether it’s for coffe or tea, I’m sure most of us have gone through more of these than we’d like to admit:

I don’t think most people would label me in the tree-hugger category, but why waste when you don’t need to? It just makes sense. These cozies can be used over & over, so customize it to your friends’ style & make something they’ll want to hold on to.

The construction is incredibly simple. Start by grabbing fabric from around the house or hit up Goodwill like I did. You’ll need a thick material for the cozy to protect their hands from the heat & extra fabric for embellishing.

My sweater’s sleeves happened to be the perfect width, but you can also trace a cardboard cozy for the right shape & size. Since I went with the sleeve I didn’t even need to sew up the seam! I only used a few fabrics & was able to make a variety. Look around the house for buttons, beads & ribbons to add fun details.

My suggestion: Put the cozies ON coffee to-go cups so your friend understands what they are. “Thanks for the… wrist warmer?” You could even fill the cup with coffee beans or tea bags to round out the gift!

Every year I try to resist the trend of starting the Christmas season earlier & earlier. So sticking with traditional Black Friday as our shotgun, here’s the first Christmas post to get the season started. (confession: I created this post days ago but refused to hit ‘publish’ until today… & will now listen to nothing but holiday music for the next month)

I love fancy Christmas trees that show off your style! When I still lived with my parents, tree decorating was my assigned role & I loved to design themes instead of the traditional “whatever’s in the attic” method. Actually, I like themes for every possible occasion. Themes & team names… what? My favorite year was our candy cane tree complete with spirals of red & white lights. I won’t have a tree in my house this year, but maybe I can get you inspired for your own? Here are a few goodies I found:

These handmade ornaments were all found on Etsy. They look pretty easy to replicate & make yourself a gorgeous DIY tree. But if you prefer crafting as a spectator sport, Etsy is an online store just overflowing with handmade products for sale. Support a starving crafter. 🙂 An now for some participation…

Show Us Your Tree!

I know we’re surrounded by some fabulously creative and chic ladies, it’s time to show it off. Send us a photo of your Christmas Tree in all it’s glory. We’ll post a gallery of our friends trees to Oooh & Ahhhh over.

Photos can be sent to lauren.wolcott@gmail.com with “tree photos” in the subject line. Can’t wait to see what you all come up with!